From the 1400s to the 1700s, Europe experienced an “Age of Exploration” The Renaissance encouraged curiosity & a desire for trade

Motivations: Why did Europeans want to explore? As a result of exploration, European nations grew powerful & spread their influence throughout the world

Gold (Money) Merchants lookingofforwealth quick,was direct A desire forbegan new sources the trade Asia to avoidexploration Muslim & mainroutes reasontofor European Italian merchants & increase profits

The Crusades & Renaissance stimulated European desires for exotic Asian luxury goods

Glory Kings who voyages of exploration Thesponsored Renaissance inspired new gained overseas colonies, new sources of possibilities for power & prestige wealth for their nation, & increased power

Exploration presented Europeans the opportunity to rise from poverty and gain fame, fortune, & status

God

European Christians, especially Catholics, wanted to stop the spread of Islam & convert non-Christians to the faith

Explorers were encouraged to spread Christianity or bring missionaries who would focus only on conversions

Means: The Age of Exploration How were explorers able to sail so far & make it back again?

Before the Renaissance, sailors did not have the technology to sail very far from Europe & return

Navigation Trade & cultural diffusion during the Renaissance introduced new navigation techniques to Europeans

Astrolabe Maps usedwere starsmore accurate and Magnetic compass made to show direction used longitude & latitude sailing more accurate

European shipbuilders built a better ship; The caravel was a strong ship that could travel in the open seas & in shallow water Caravels had triangular lateen sails that allowed ships to sail against the wind

Cannons & rifles gave ships protection

A moveable rudder made the caravel more maneuverable

Who wereThe the Age explorers, where did they go, & of Exploration how did they change world history?

Europeans were not the first to explore the oceans in search of new trade routes

Islamic merchants explored the Indian Ocean & had dominated the Asian spice trade for centuries before European exploration

Early Exploration

From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He led the Chinese treasure fleet on 7 expeditions to SE Asia, India, & Africa during the Ming

But in the late 1400s, the European sailors did what neither Muslim nor Chinese explorers could: Begin global (not regional) exploration & create colonies to increase their wealth & power

In Portugal, Prince Henry the Navigator started a school of navigation to train sailors He brought in Europe’s best map-makers, shipbuilders, & sailing instructors He wanted to discover new territories, find a quick trade route to Asia, & expand Portugal’s power

Portugal was the early leader in the Age of Exploration

Prince Henry’s navigation school & willingness to fund voyages led the Portuguese to be the 1st to explore the west coast of Africa Vasco da Gama was the 1st explorer to find a direct trade route to Asia by going around Africa to get to India Portugal gained a sea route to Asia that brought them great wealth

During the Age of Exploration, Portugal created colonies along the African coast, in Brazil, & the Spice Islands in Asia

The Spanish government saw Portugal’s wealth & did not want to be left out More than any other European monarch, Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain sponsored & supported overseas expeditions

Like most educated men of the Renaissance, Columbus believed the world was round & thought he could reach Asia by sailing west

He made 4 trips to “India” never knowing he was in

Columbus reached the Bahamas in America but thought that he had reached islands off the coast of India

Christopher Columbus

The Columbian Exchange ■ Widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, communicable diseases, technology and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and 16th centuries, related to European colonization and trade (including African/American slave trade) after Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage.

Despite the fact that Magellan became the Columbus never found first explorer to Asia, Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigate the Earth still thought he could (go all the way around) reach Asia by sailing West

During the Age of Exploration, Spain created colonies in North & South America

Spain sent explorers called conquistadors to the New World to find gold, claim land, & spread Christianity Cortez conquered the Aztecs Pizarro conquered Thethe influx Incaof gold from America made Spain the most powerful country in Europe during the early years of the Age of Exploration

England, France, & the Netherlands became involved in overseas exploration & colonization as well

After failing to do so, the The French would soon carveChamplain out a largefounded colony along ofOrleans Quebec the Mississippi River fromFrench Canadacolony to New The French explorer Samuel de Champlain searched Canada for a northwest passage to Asia

Unlike other European nations whose kings paid for colonies, the English colonies were paid for by citizens who formed joint-stock companies English colonies formed along the Atlantic Coast of North America by colonists motivated either by religion or wealth

Commercial Revolution ■ COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION IS A TRANSFORMATION FROM THE LOCAL ECONOMIES TO THE FORMATION OF A GLOBAL ECONOMY. – A GLOBAL ECONOMY MEANS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS HAPPENING ALL OVER THE WORLD. TRADING MONEY ISN’T LIMITED TO ONE AREA.

Mercantilism ■Mercantilism- Idea that a nation’s wealth was measured in gold and silver; to build its supply of gold and silver, a nation must export more goods than it imports. ■Leads to COLONIES.

Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic slave trade was started in the 1500s to fill the need for labor in Spain’s American empire. Each year, traders shipped tens of thousands of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to work on tobacco and sugar plantations in the Americas.

The Atlantic slave trade formed one part of a three-legged trade network know as the triangular trade.

Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade • By the 1800s, an estimated 11 million enslaved Africans had reached the Americas. Another 2 million probably died during the Middle Passage. • The slave trade caused the decline of some African states. The loss of countless numbers of young women and men resulted in some small states disappearing forever. • New African states arose whose way of life depended on the slave trade. The rulers of these new states waged war against other Africans in order to gain control of the slave trade in their region.